Fake lecturer who conned farmers still on the run a year later

By THE STANDARD ON SATURDAY REPORTER

KENYA: More than 30 farmers from Kakamega and Vihiga counties are counting heavy losses after being defrauded of hundreds of thousands of shillings they paid to acquire heifers.

The farmers, mostly members of the Kakamega Dairy Cooperative, were duped into surrendering their cash to a man who posed as a Masinde Muliro University lecturer and a professional in the agricultural sector.

Criminal Investigation Officers have been following crucial leads to arrest Dr Geoffrey Walumbe Wanjala, who allegedly received payments from farmers at the beginning of 2013 promising to deliver heifers, only to vanish like a ghost.

According to records at the cooperative, 32 farmers lost Sh724,960 in payments made in cash and M-Pesa. Sources say the number of people who fell prey to Walumbe could be higher as  more farmers who do not belong to the cooperative were also duped.

Independent inquiries at the university revealed that Walumbe has never been a staffer there as the human resources office has no record of such a name.

This brings to the fore one of the most well-orchestrated white-collar crimes in the region in recent times. The farmers are now asking the authorities to act so they can recover their money.

Doctorate studies

After introducing himself at the cooperative, Walumbe told the farmers he was pursuing doctorate studies at a university in Nairobi through the sponsorship of foreign donors. He introduced the farmers to a project funded by his “sponsors” to enable farmers acquire heifers at a cost of Sh18,225 each. A heifer would otherwise go for Sh100,000.

According to documents seen by The Standard on Saturday, the heifers would be given to the farmers as a grant with the Sh18,225 being commitment fees for registration (Sh1,500), shares (Sh5,000), insurance (Sh7,225) and transport (Sh4,500).

Receipts that were issued — a sample of which is shown here — revealed that Walumbe owned and operated a company  called Agricultural Research Marketing and Extension Service (ARMES Enterprises). The company was allegedly based in Bungoma with a fixed postal address and telephone numbers.

Buoyed by working with a ‘university don’, scores of farmers enrolled in the programme but it is the 32 who have come forward after signing up to purchase one or more heifers. Receipts were promptly awarded upon payment.

When the two weeks period in which the heifers were to be delivered elapsed, the cows were never delivered while Walumbe could not be traced at his residence in Kakamega town. His phone however remains operational.

Julius Makatiani, the chairman of the cooperative which serves farmers from Kakamega County, says he met the man at the district agriculture office. At the time, Walumbe introduced himself as an employee of the Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP).

However, KAPAP’s Kakamega regional coordinator John Manyengo said the man only worked there as a facilitator for six months. Manyengo says Walumbe’s services were terminated because of poor performance.

“I am aware that this individual stole from farmers after duping them into believing that he was undertaking a PhD at a local university and that his sponsors had given him money to purchase heifers as part of his research proposal. Before we let him go, we tried to verify whether he was a doctor only to discover he was not even a graduate,” said Mr Manyengo.

Humphrey Nyongesa, a lecturer at Masinde Muliro University who introduced Walumbe to officials at KAPAP, blew the whistle on the fraudulent academic record he claimed to possess.

“He is a total conman. Walumbe spoiled my reputation in the four months I worked with him during which time he used my name to dupe very many people,” says Dr Nyongesa.

Limited stocks

“He made away with more than Sh600,000 belonging to farmers. He claimed to possess a degree from Egerton University yet inquiries at the institution revealed that he only went there to acquire a certificate in Animal Health and Production but was discontinued on academic grounds.” Dr Nyongesa reported the matter to the CID but Walumbe was never apprehended.

Grace Asigoi, a Shinyalu farmer, said the man promised to deliver the heifers once all interested farmers had paid up. She made a payment for one animal.

“I spoke to him on phone several times before I made my payments via M-Pesa. My heifer was to arrive two weeks before last year’s Easter, but they never did. At one point he initiated a meeting to hand over the heifers, but later put it off saying the cows had caught Foot and Mouth Disease. He even became hostile at one point when we asked him to deliver the animals anyway. This is when we smelt mischief,” said Asigoi.

Gideon Mbagaya, a farmer from Vihiga, signed up and paid for three heifers. He also helped recruit scores of other farmers to benefit from the “project”.

Mbagaya says officials of the cooperative introduced Walumbe to them and enabled him to gain their confidence.

He received two receipts for his payments. The third receipt was to be delivered with the animals.

“I invited him to my home. He told me he wanted more farmers from the county to benefit. There he met two farmers in Sabatia and they gave him money. He talked of delivering the orders in two batches while insisting he had few animals to give and advised us to pay up while stocks lasted,” Mbagaya narrated to The Standard on Saturday.

Makatiani, accompanied by four representatives of the farmers who had been conned, took the matter to the police for investigation.

Slipped away

 In November, CID officers investigating the case told The Standard on Saturday that they were in hot pursuit of the culprit who is now a fugitive. Interestingly, his phone remains in service, but the CID does not give reasons as to why he has not been traced and apprehended.

 According to an officer who only identified himself as Mr Chai, sleuths working on the case had come close to nabbing the suspect a few months ago in Eldoret, but he slipped away.

“We got help from mobile service providers to trace his whereabouts somewhere in Eldoret, but he must have seen us coming and slipped away. It is possible that some of the farmers always inform him of what we are doing so we have not ruled out the possibility that he might be working with some of them,” said Chai.

Contacted during the week, the CID maintains that Walumbe’s whereabouts are still unknown.

But when contacted by The Standard on Saturday  last November through the mobile phone numbers on the receipt he issued, Walumbe denied defrauding the farmers saying he was acting as an agent of a supplier who has since disappeared.

“I worked at the university for a short time before I moved. Right now I am in Kitale and I’m still pursuing the person who has the animals. By the 15th of next month (December 2013), I will be able to come up with a way to avail the animals or refund the money using my own sources,” Walumbe said before suddenly hanging up.

Makatiani however said he had not spoken to Walumbe nor had any of the other farmers who had fallen victim to the scam.